As we make our way through Q1 of 2019, let's look back on 2018 and analyze how exit activity for blockchain technology compares to previous years. The graphic below shows total annual blockchain technology exit events over time.

As the graphic demonstrates, 2018 saw a drop in blockchain technology exit activity compared to the previous year. The 9 exit events in 2018 represent a 25% decrease from the 12 exit events in 2017 and a 47% decrease from the 17 exit events in 2016, which was the highest year on record for exit activity. Some of the exit events in 2018 include Poloniex's acquisition by Circle for $400M, Earn.com's acquisition by Coinbase for $120M, and Coincheck's acquisition by Monex Group for $33.6M.

Let's look back on 2018 and examine how funding in the blockchain technology sector compares to previous years. The graphic below shows the total annual blockchain technology funding amounts over time.

As the graphic demonstrates, 2018 experienced the highest blockchain technology funding on record at $4.1B. It represents a 28% increase from the previous year’s funding. Over the past 5 years, blockchain technology funding showed staggering growth with a CAGR of 87%.

The blockchain technology industry has seen $10B in total all time funding. Let's analyze the investors making bets into blockchain technology and identify the most active firms.

The graphic below shows blockchain technology investors based on their number of investments into the sector. If an investor participates in two investment rounds in the same company (such as a Series A and Series B), that would qualify as two investments for this graphic.

As the graphic demonstrates, the Digital Currency Group has made the most bets in the blockchain technology sector with 110 investments. BlockChain Capital follows in second place with 58 investments. Examples of companies that Digital Currency Group invested in include Basis, Circle, Ledger, and BitGo. Let's see which investors make their way onto this list in 2019!

This blog post examines the different components of the blockchain technology ecosystem. We will illustrate what the categories of innovation are and which categories have the most companies. We will also compare the categories in terms of their funding and maturity.

Blockchain Innovations Is the Largest Blockchain Technology Category

Let’s start off by looking at the Sector Map. We have classified 1094 blockchain technology startups into 12 categories that have raised $10 billion. The Sector Map highlights the number of companies in each category. It also shows a random sampling of companies in each category.

We see that Blockchain Innovations is the largest category with 312 companies. These companies are working on distributed ledger technologies, such as smart self-enforcing contracts, cross-blockchain interoperability, and increased transaction speeds. Some example companies in this category include Blockstream, Filecoin, Blockstack, and Ripple.

We previously highlighted that blockchain technology saw its highest Q2 funding ever in 2018. This blog post will take a closer look at the trends within the individual blockchain technology categories. Per our analysis, we can say that the Blockchain Innovations category is the unequivocal funding leader. We'll discuss this with some charts below.

To start off, let’s review the amount of funding raised this quarter per category within blockchain technology.

The above graphic highlights that the Blockchain Innovations category leads the sector in Q3 funding with $0.9B. Its funding is almost 10 times the funding of the next category, Financial Services at $0.1B.

The Blockchain Innovations category dominates the sector in all-time funding

We’ll explain these observations with some graphics and discussions below.

The Mining Category Leads Blockchain Technology In Q2 Funding

To start off, let’s review the amount of funding raised this quarter by each category within blockchain technology.

The above graphic shows that the Mining category leads the sector in Q2 funding with $400M. The Blockchain Innovations category follows in a close second place with $386M. Its funding is almost 3 times higher than that in the next category, Exchanges at $145M.

With all the ICO buzz in the Blockchain sector, we dove into our Blockchain Technology report and research platform to examine how significant this new financing model has been. It comes as no surprise that we can conclude that the Blockchain Technology sector is experiencing a new financing paradigm.

This conclusion comes from two takeaways:

Funding amounts shifted dramatically to ICOs

Funding counts saw a drop in early-stage events with the emergence of ICOs

We’ll explain these takeaways with some graphics that show Blockchain Technology funding activity by round.

To help set the stage, the graphic below illustrates Blockchain Technology funding amounts over time. As you can see, the sector’s overall funding skyrocketed in the past few years. Additionally, Q1 2018 is the best Q1 on record.

Blockchain Technology Funding Amounts Shifted Dramatically to ICOs

We’ll start off by examining the annual Blockchain Technology funding amounts by round.

The Blockchain Technology sector has seen a lot of buzz in the news, as the price of cryptocurrencies has seen large ups and downs over the last year.

What are the different components of Blockchain Technology and how do they make up this startup ecosystem? On our Blockchain research platform, we have classified the companies into functional categories. This blog post examines these categories and how they compare with one another through a series of graphics.

Blockchain Innovations Is the Largest Category

Let’s start off by looking at the Sector Map for the Blockchain Technology sector. As of March 2018, we have classified 1,007 Blockchain Technology startups into 12 categories which raised $6 billion in funding. The Sector Map highlights the number of companies in each category. It also shows a random sampling of companies in each category.

We can see from the Sector Map above that Blockchain Innovations is the largest category with 244 companies. This category...

The following graphs highlight the exit activity in the Blockchain Technology sector. The graphics include data through August 2017.

The above graph summarizes the number of exits (acquisitions and IPOs) in each Blockchain Technology category. The Bitcoin Exchanges category leads the sector with 10 acquisitions. The Bitcoin Data category is the runner-up with 8 acquisitions.

The above graph summarizes the number of exits (acquisitions and IPOs) in the Blockchain Technology sector by year. 2016 leads the sector with 14 acquisitions and 1 IPO. 2015 is the runner-up with 13 acquisitions and 1 IPO.

We are currently tracking 970 Blockchain Technology companies in 12 categories across 74 countries, with a total of $4.5 Billion in funding. Click here to learn more about the full Blockchain Technology market report.

The following graph shows the average age by category in the Blockchain Technology sector. The graphic includes data through August 2017.

The above graph summarizes the average age of companies in each Blockchain Technology category. The Bitcoin Trust category has the highest average age at around 5.5 years. The Bitcoin Infrastructure category is the runner-up with an average age of 5.2 years. On the other hand, Blockchain Innovations is the youngest Blockchain Technology category with an average age of 3.6 years.

We are currently tracking 970 Blockchain Technology companies in 12 categories across 74 countries, with a total of $4.5 Billion in funding. Click here to learn more about the full Blockchain Technology market report.

The analyses below summarize where Blockchain Technology innovations are occurring. The graphic includes data through September 2017.

The above map shows the number of Blockchain Technology companies located in different countries. The United States ranks as the top country with around 350 companies.

The above map shows the amount of total Blockchain Technology startup venture capital funding in different countries. The United States has the most VC funding at around $2B.

We are currently tracking 963 Blockchain Technology companies in 12 categories across 74 countries, with a total of $4.1B in funding. Click here to learn more about the full Blockchain Technology market report.

The following graphs highlight venture investing trends into the Blockchain Technology sector. The graphics include data through August 2017.

The above graph compares the total venture funding in each Blockchain Technology category to the number of companies in the category. The Blockchain Innovations category leads in funding at $2.1B. The category with the most startups is Bitcoin Exchanges, with around 230 companies.

The above analysis summarizes the average company funding in each Blockchain Technology category. The Bitcoin Mining category leads the sector with around $28M in average funding per company, followed by the Bitcoin Trust category with around $24M in average funding per company.

We are currently tracking 961 Blockchain Technology companies in 12 categories across 74 countries, with a total of $4.1 Billion in funding. Click here to learn more about the full Blockchain Technology market report.

The following graph shows the founding date distribution in the Blockchain Technology sector. The graphic includes data through September 2017.

The above graph summarizes the number of Blockchain Technology companies founded in a certain year. 2014 ranks at the top with 180 companies founded in that year. 2013 is close behind with 164 companies founded.

We are currently tracking 955 Blockchain Technology companies in 12 categories across 74 countries, with a total of $4 Billion in funding. Click here to learn more about the full Blockchain Technology market report.

The following graphs highlight recent trends in Blockchain Technology startup funding activity. The graphics include data through September 2017.

The above graph summarizes the total funding raised by Blockchain Tech startups for each year. 2017 has the most funding to date at around $1.3 Billion.

The above graph summarizes the total amount of funding raised by Blockchain Tech companies founded in a certain year. Companies founded in 2014 have raised the most funding at around $1 Billion.

We are currently tracking 948 Blockchain Tech companies in 12 categories across 74 countries, with a total of $3.7 Billion in funding. Click here to learn more about the full Blockchain Technology market report.

The following two graphs summarize the rounds of funding going into the Blockchain Technology space. Please note these graphics are made using data through September 2017.

The graph above shows the total amount of VC funding broken out by round. From 2010 to 2016, we saw a sharp increase in the overall sector funding, with the total amount peaking in 2015 and then declining thereafter. Early to mid-stage funding type events (Seed, Series A, B, and C) have accounted for a substantial amount of total funding.

The graph above shows the total count of funding events broken out by round. The general trend over the past few years has been a substantial number of funding events in the Seed stage and a fewer number in the Series A stage, with the funding events in the later stages quickly dropping off.

We are currently tracking 948 Blockchain Technology companies in 12 categories across 74 countries, with a total of $3.7 Billion in funding. Click here to learn more about the full...